Omar is a final-year BSc Computer Science student. He’s from Stratford, east London and is the first in his family to go to university. Omar comes from a single-parent household which is why he was hoping to attend a Russell Group university in London to further his prospects in life. When he found out he’d successfully secured a place to study at Queen Mary he was thrilled to begin his course.
"I’m aiming for a first in my degree so a lot of my spare time is spent doing independent learning when I’m not on campus. I really enjoy doing my assignments and preparing presentations because I enjoy writing.
"I’ve been working part-time since I turned sixteen so that I could support myself as I don’t want to burden my mum. Thankfully, I was awarded a hardship bursary in my first semester at university to help me with my needs as a student. When I was in sixth form, I’d stay in the library until late as I couldn’t afford my own computer.
"Thanks to support from Queen Mary alumni, I’ve been able to buy a laptop and I can now study comfortably from home during the lockdown. Students from wealthier families don’t have to worry about their finances as much, which means they can focus on their studies more. But thanks to my bursary, I was able to dedicate more time to my learning too.
"I’d like to focus on getting great grades and hope to be working in the cyber-security field as that’s where I see myself heading in the future.
"I’d like to say thank you to all the alumni once again for making this difference to my life!"